OET-RV EXO Chapter 20

20 Then God gave these instructions to the Israelis: 2 I’m your god Yahweh, who rescued you[fn] from where you were enslaved in Egypt.

• 3 You mustn’t own any other gods in my sight.
• 4 You mustn’t make a carved figure for yourself, nor carve a copy of anything in the sky above or in the earth below, or that’s in the water under the earth.[ref] 5 Don’t bow down to idols and don’t serve them, because I, your god Yahweh, am a jealous God. I remember the sins of the fathers and punish the children of even the third and fourth generation of those who hate me,[ref] 6 but I faithfully fulfil my promises to thousands of generations of those who love me and who obey my instructions.
• 7 You mustn’t wrongly promote the name of Yahweh your god, because I won’t leave anyone unpunished who does that.[ref]
• 8 Keep Saturday different from all the other days[ref]—9 there’s six days every week for working.[ref] 10 The seventh day is a rest day for Yahweh your god: you mustn’t do any work—not you, or your children, or your male or female servants, or your cattle, or the foreigners living among you—11 because Yahweh made the heavens and earth, the sea, and everything that’s in them in six days. Then he rested on the seventh day, so that’s why he blessed the rest day and made it sacred.[ref]
• 12 Honour your father and your mother, so that you’ll have a long life on the land that your god Yahweh is about to give you.[ref]
• 13 You mustn’t murder.[ref]
• 14 You mustn’t commit adultery.[ref]
• 15 You mustn’t steal.[ref]
• 16 You mustn’t lie in court.[ref]
• 17 You mustn’t covet your neighbour’s house or spouse, or their male or female servants, or their animals, or anything else they own.[ref]

18 All of the people could hear and see the thunder and the lightning, the sound of the horn, and the mountain smoking. They trembled when they saw it, and they remained standing at a distance.[ref] 19 They begged Mosheh, “You be the one to speak to us, and we’ll listen, but don’t let God speak directly to us, in case we die.”

20 “Don’t be afraid,” Mosheh responded, “because God has come to test you so that the fear of him will remain with you so that you all won’t disobey him.” 21 So the people stood at a good distance while Mosheh approached toward the thick darkness where God was.

22 Then Yahweh told Mosheh, “This is what you need to tell the Israelis: ‘You yourselves have seen that I, Yahweh, have talked with you from heaven. 23 You all mustn’t make gods out of silver or gold for yourselves to have alongside me. 24 You need to make an altar for me out of dirt, and then you can sacrifice your burnt offerings and peace offerings, and your sheep and cattle, on it. I’ll inform you about every place where I want to be worshipped and I’ll come to you and will bless you there. 25 If you do make me an altar with stones, you mustn’t use cut stones to build it because moving your tools over it will defile it.[ref] 26 And don’t use steps to get up to the altar because you might expose your private parts under your robes.